Let me make things simple
...that's what I do: I design and write everyday information - such as forms, instructions and letters - to make it easy for people to understand so it's better at its job
Featured
Me, in a magazine, talking about porn – infoporn that is!
Design Week just featured a comment I made about ‘infographics’. If I had known they were going to, I would have said more – and here’s what I would have said.
Read: Me, in a magazine, talking about porn – infoporn that is!
Other selected information design projects
Forms | AIG life insurance application form
Project to redesign the form AIG uses to collect information from customers applying for life insurance
Read: AIG life insurance application form
Letters | NHS appointment letter
Project to rewrite and redesign an appointment letter sent out by the local NHS trust.
Information about services | NHS Summary Care Records
Having, as requested, ‘taken time to read this leaflet’ (all 12 pages of it) about NHS Summary Care Records, I realised most of it was unnecessary
Have a look at how I got on making it into manageable amount of information.
Read: NHS Summary Care Records
Instructions | Plain Language in Plain English book design
I was recently asked to contribute to the design chapter of Plain Language in Plain English by Cheryl Stephens. Presumably what I had to say was fairly convincing, because no sooner had I finished the writing than I was asked to design the book as well.
Read: Plain Language in Plain English book design
Blog entries
The difference between answering questions and getting answers
Two recent news items made me think about the differences in the way we react when we are asked questions, and when we want questions answered. These are my thoughts.
Read: The difference between answering questions and getting answers
Me, in a magazine, talking about porn – infoporn that is!
Design Week just featured a comment I made about ‘infographics’. If I had known they were going to, I would have said more – and here’s what I would have said.
Read: Me, in a magazine, talking about porn – infoporn that is!
Detail that makes the difference
A few days ago, I came across this TED talk given by Rory Sutherland of Ogilvy about the importance of detail. Although only the last 20 seconds bear any direct relation to the kind of work I do, but it’s a fascinating and entertaining talk in terms of a plea to organisations to stop looking for ‘big-picture’ solutions to problems which can just as easily be fixed by sorting out the detail instead.
Read: Detail that makes the difference
A heavenly piece of information design
Today I had an email request from an ex-colleague who was looking for, in her words, ‘an info design archetype’. What she was looking for was an example where, purely through design, a document had been made to look simpler.
There was something that had long since slipped to the back of memory, largely because it’s not something I see on an everyday basis. And this is what it was: it’s the service from when my daughter was christened, and it’s a fabulous example of what can be achieved with some simple typography.
Read: A heavenly piece of information design
The Plain Language Act
There has been a lot of talk in the plain language field about the forthcoming vote on the Plain Language Bill in the US. Its premise is very simple: to require the federal government to write all new publications, forms, and publicly distributed documents in a “clear, concise, well-organized” manner that follows the best practices [...]
The Crystalmeth Mark
This was my Eureka moment in the bath – not exactly Archimedes I grant you. I think it’s time for a new standard in plain english. I give you the ‘The Crystalmeth Mark – can people understand your information while under the influence?’
Alright, so you’ve taken a look at the date and realised I’m not entirely serious, but I do have a valid point to make.